Ko-Ko

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Duke Ellington Orchestra: "Ko-Ko"

Ko-Ko is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington from 1940.

Background of the composition

Ellington's composition Ko-Ko was one of the series of pieces that the pianist with his orchestra from March to October 1940 Victor grossed how the Concerto For Cootie , Cotton Tail , Bojangles, Harlem Air Shaft, hot Valley and in a Mellotone that are considered classic pieces of the " Blanton-Webster-Band " and whose first recordings were strongly influenced by the newcomers Jimmy Blanton , Ben Webster and Billy Strayhorn .

Goya: Los Caprichos 61

In his Ellington biography, James Lincoln Collier goes into detail on this composition, which "is classic in the given form". He was reminded of Goya's flying witches , "who race wildly across a desolate landscape."

Ko-Ko has an intense, almost satanic drive . The intensity alone is terrifying. Carney's baritone threatens us from the introduction, and the pedal notes, with their refusal to move, to conform to the harmonies , are pitiless. "

Duke Ellington said of his composition that it was to be understood as a description of Congo Square in New Orleans , "where jazz was born," and that the piece was thus part of the Musical History of the Negro People , which he eventually joined dedicated to the Black, Brown and Beige suite .

Musical analysis

Ko-Ko is “a twelve-tactical blues in E ♭ minor with an eight-bar introduction that is recapitulated as a four-bar coda at the end ,” says Collier. Harmoniously, be it an “exercise in the organ or pedal point (...) In Ellington's Ko-Ko , the introduction and five to seven choruses are built around pedal tones: the low E ♭ of the baritone saxophone in the introduction and the E ♭ two octaves higher from Tizol in the first chorus, an A ♭ from the saxophones in unison in the second and third chorus and a B in the fourth chorus, also from the saxophones in unison, and an F from the trumpets in the fifth chorus. ”Collier points out that the pedal tones - as usual in organ playing - are not held continuously, but repeated. Harmoniously, the piece is definitely quite dissonant, especially in the last two choruses.

Juan Tizol (1943)

Structurally, the piece is built up “in layers” which “make the harmonies used increasingly complex; however, the complexity is developed linearly, and each successive layer remains audible and accessible ”; In the course of the piece the number of voices speaking at the same time generally increases:

  • [0:00] - Introduction: the pedal part is answered by the trombones; the first chorus consists of Tizol's pedal-E flat against a woodwind figure .
  • [00:14] - In the second chorus pedal voice is a short riff -Figur the sheet with plunger damper and Nanton connected to the plunger emphasized "complains".
  • [0:32] - This continues in the third chorus, in which Ellington's piano sets the first tentative accents.
  • [1:02] - The fourth chorus has trumpets with plunger mutes that emphasize the pedal note, "while Ellington underlines everything with eccentric and very dissonant piano figures."
  • [1:28] - The fifth chorus contains four voices: a pedal F from the trumpets, two separate saxophone figures and dots from the plunger trombones.
  • [1:48] The sixth chorus is a call-and-answer passage between the orchestra and the bass , “but the orchestra's call consists of hearing four different voices that suddenly begin and end, just as the bass appears and disappears. ”In this one
  • [2:23] - or in the seventh chorus there is no pedal point; but here the chords are so dissonant that a pedal part can hardly be heard.

In terms of timbre and tone colors, Ko-Ko is "a good deal more monochromatic than most of Ellington's best pieces." The trombones predominate and the plunger is often in use; the saxophones are subordinate and are mainly used to generate the pedal notes.

First recordings

The composition was first recorded by the Ellington Orchestra on March 6, 1940 in Chicago, together with Jack the Bear ; the B-side of the record (Victor 25677) was Conga Brava . The soloists are Juan Tizol, "Tricky" Joe Nanton, Ellington and Jimmy Blanton . A piece as complicated as Ko-Ko only managed to reach # 25 on the US charts for one week.

In November this year, another version of Ko-Ko was recorded at a concert in Fargo, North Dakota . In January 1943 the band played it at their Carnegie Hall concert. In February 1956 there was a new recording for Bethlehem Records .

The Ellington composition should not be confused with the 1945 piece of the same name by Charlie Parker .

literature

  • James Lincoln Collier: Duke Ellington. Ullstein.
  • Alain Paillier: Ko-Ko. Paris, Alter Ego Editions. 2011. ISBN 978-2-915528-26-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f g J. L. Collier: Duke Ellington. P. 328 ff.
  2. Information on the background of Ko-Ko at pontcharttrain .
  3. Victor Records 25600 series at 78discography.com
  4. ^ Gerhard Klußmeier : Jazz in the Charts. Another view on jazz history. Liner notes and booklet for the 100 CD edition. Membrane International GmbH. ISBN 978-3-86735-062-4 .